Alice's pick
"Nikolaus’ captivating abstract sculptures combine dynamic movement, beautiful surfaces and exquisite quality of production. While the materiality of the works give them a solid weightiness, they refuse to be static, as they work visually from all sides due to Nikolaus’ creative process. They also demonstrate the dexterity of the artist in handling a wide variety of materials - including wood and steel - and balancing the use of these in his mixed media works."
Richard's pick
"As I sit at home entering into the fourth week of lockdown, it was a true pleasure to come across the images of Australian photographer, Ty Stedman. Aerial images above beautiful semi-abstract landscapes that make you feel like you are a bird free, soaring high in the sky, silently above these intriguing geometric patterns of colour. How I long to be in flight travelling to such far-flung exotic locations! The work taps into a long-standing, but currently more popular than ever, form of image making in this medium, which is that of the aerial photograph. Originally developed to map our coastlines and borders, and for early reconnaissance imagery during the World War I, aerial photography has always been used to capture the world around us from a viewpoint we rarely, if ever, get to see and experience for ourselves. The advent of low-cost air travel allowed the majority of us to glimpse for the first time this bird’s eye view of our world and the incredible and often magical landscapes it reveals to us.
More recently, drones have created a new boom in the development of aerial photography allowing a camera to access places previously too difficult or inhospitable even for a light aircraft to travel to. Stedman’s work falls into the former, more classic form of aerial photography, and one that to my mind conjures up visions of the intrepid photographic artist half-hanging out of a small light aircraft, risking life itself to capture the perfect shot, and he does so with breathtaking imagery and eye for composition, that would be not easy to craft when you have two feet planted firmly on the ground and a tripod to take the weight of the camera, never-mind leaning out of an open door of a plane. All the images have been shot from light aircraft over oceans, salt lakes and ski fields looking at the natural and altered landscapes of regional Australia and other remote parts of the world. The works focus on abstract forms, colour and texture to give renditions of our landscape that provide an opportunity to see a world that is unique from the conventional view. The photographer explores new horizons, whether from the elevation of a plane, or from the addition of time via long exposure, to show the beauty of the planet that is all around us, and encourage us to take the time to pause, to reflect, to feel and to experience it completely anew."
Dr. Matthew Eve's pick
"At this difficult time, when restrictions curtail our daily routines and leave us gasping for some semblance of normality to return, the true nourishing and uplifting nature of visual art couldn’t be more necessary. With this in mind, the artist I’ve chosen for April is award-winning, Spanish-born Tomasa Martin who produces sublime, minimalist figurative and still life paintings which have a quiet, emotive pull. These are intellectual pictures painted in a muted palette that captivate and create dialogues with the viewer, and allow us to meditate on the unseen. Her portraits of girls, painted full face or from the behind the model’s head, are full of psychological depth, and focus on a gamut of emotional responses that raise more questions than answers. What is it that has distracted the model? What is it that they can see off-canvas that we can’t? It’s intriguing and creates a tension between the painting’s subject and the viewer.
Tomasa’s portraits of dogs equally capture the full emotional range that one would usually only expect to see in human portraiture (and that’s something I’ve rarely, if ever, seen). There are also beautifully observed trompe l’oeil still lifes, invariably of a folded newspaper (featuring leading stories on art, fashion and film stars) with a pencil, or a pair of spectacles, a coffee cup or a glass of water; and paintings of precipitous piles of books, spine-end-on, which take on a monumental gravitas. But as equally important as subject matter is the surface texture of Tomasa’s paintings which are layered with paper, multiple brush marks and sgraffito that add an architectural and aged quality to the overall whole. These are paintings to marvel at and treasure - and what better time to invest in one of Tomasa’s beguiling canvasses than now - when art really can be a salve for the mind and the soul?"
Alex's pick
"I am particularly intrigued by and attracted to his dynamic and atmospheric layered seascapes, made-up of multiple images capturing different moments of light and motion."
Juliana and Debra's pick
"We particularly like his beautiful smooth orange clay sculptures. Minimal aesthetic and unique surfaces achieved in clay."
Julia's pick
"Sidse Friis' works are beautiful pieces made from a mixture of linocut and monoprinting. I love the overlaying of colour and that you can see the texture in the way they have been printed. The linocut gives them a very handmade feel with a touch of folk art brought right up to date with the use of contemporary but timeless colours and her unique style. These are accomplished pieces both in her technique and style. A real find!"
Dario's pick
"What can I say about this month’s impeccable choice. Well firstly, I must start by being completely candid. I have known this artist for a long, long time and was delighted to come across her on Artfinder. I have included Ms Thompson’s work at many an art fair and in quite a few collections that we have curated. "But why Ms Thompson?" I hear you ask, in between taking a sip of your favourite breakfast tipple (it’s gone 10AM, we’re on lockdown, it’s all good). Mine is a nicely chilled dry white washed down with Pringles by the way.
Anyway, I digress… the thing with Ms Thompson is that these collages are so very simply, intuitively and elegantly placed. The balance behind these works are so subtle that these nuances reveal themselves over time. This is an artist that has understood and honed her craft over many years. However, that is just one side of her work. Ms Thompson’s work is also a commentary, by this I mean that they are more than mere decorative pieces. There is a reflection of our choices within these works, emotionally and politically. These inferences are gentle, allowing you to walk towards them and to live with your own thoughts upon them. These are works to be lived with and discovered.
I think it’s time to go now as the wine is kicking in. I hope, as always, that you have enjoyed these erudite, well considered and may I say, almost messianic ramblings. I may grow a beard and take to wearing my sheets as a robe. I love the word 'robe'… and 'poppadom'. 'Til next time."
Aindrea's pick
"Paying homage to the Constructivist movement, Sandor infuses a modern approach to austerity. Sharp lines with electric pops of colour are used to evoke a sense of harmony, chaos, formalism and modularity."
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Cover image via Tomasa Martin
